No. 9 Softball fights past No. 22/RV Minnesota, 5-3

Saturday, March 9

Austin, Texas

2:30 p.m. CT

University of Texas

21-4

#22/RV Minnesota

13-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Minnesota	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	3	12	4
Texas	0	0	0	3	0	2	X	5	6	0

No. 9 Softball fights past No. 22/RV Minnesota, 5-3

03.09.2019 | Softball

Box Score

The Longhorns & Golden Gophers will contest a “rubber match” on Sunday at Noon CT.

AUSTIN, Texas – Held in relative check through three innings offensively, in front of 1,035 fans on Saturday afternoon in Longhorn Invitational action at Red & Charline McCombs Field, No. 9/10 Texas softball (21-4) erupted for three runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth to knock-off No. 22/RV Minnesota (13-7), 5-3.

Important Notes

With the victory, Texas softball picked up its eighth win of the year over a team that was either ranked or receiving votes in the polls at the time of playing.
Junior utility player Shannon Rhodes extended her streak of reaching base safely to 17 straight games and her hitting streak to 10 straight games. Both are the longest for any Longhorns player this season.
Texas added two more doubles during the win over the Golden Gophers to give the Longhorns 51 through 25 games. That's a remarkable 2.04 doubles-per-game pace, and well ahead of what UT would need to shatter the single-season program record of 86 established in 2012.
The win over the Golden Gophers marked the first time that Texas has won this season when being out-hit by an opponent. UT was 0-2 in two previous 2019 instances against No. 8/7 LSU and on Friday against No. 22/RV Minnesota.

Major Players

Junior designated player Miranda Elish led the UT offense at the plate by going 2-for-3 with her seventh double of the season and two RBIs, while junior left fielder Kaitlyn Washington was credited with a RBI. Freshman shortstop McKenzie Parker registered the second double of her collegiate career as part of a 1-for-3 effort.

In the Circle

Senior left hander Brooke Bolinger (5-2) earned the win, allowing one earned run on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts over 4.0 innings of work. Sophomore righty Ariana Adams picked up her first career save by permitting two earned runs on four hits with two walks and two K's in 3.0 frames of relief.

The Details

Minnesota's offense threatened during its first at-bat, putting two on base via leadoff singles from left fielder Ellee Jensen and second baseman MaKenna Partain. That's when the UT defense delivered as Bolinger handled a Hope Brandner bouncer back to the circle and started a 1-5-3 double play to take all of the steam out of the Gopher threat.

UM also managed to put two aboard with two outs in both the second and third frames, but Bolinger fought her way out of danger with a strikeout looking and a liner to third, respectively.

After threatening in each of the first three frames, Minnesota finally got on the board in the top of the fourth. With runners at the corners after a Katelyn Kemetmueller leadoff single, a one-out Emma Burns walk and a wild pitch, center fielder Carlie Brandt hit a single just off a glove at third to make it 1-0. The advantage might have been even more if not for more solid Texas defense. First, sophomore catcher Mary Iakopo leapt out from behind the plate to field a bunt and cut down a runner at third. With two down, Partain hit a shot up the middle, but the Longhorns managed to catch Brandt in a rundown between third and home to limit the damage to a single tally.

Texas' offense put two of its own on the basepaths with one out in the bottom of the fourth as Rhodes blasted a long single off the wall in right center, and Iakopo followed with a walk. Burke stepped to the dish and hit a high chopper to short that was misplayed and deflected into shallow right center. That allowed both Rhodes and pinch runner Tuesday DerMargosian the opportunity to race across to hand UT a 2-1 advantage. With two down, Elish hammered the UT offense's 50th double of the season to the wall in left center, plating Burke to make it 3-1.

The Burnt Orange & White advantage expanded even more in the bottom of the sixth as Elish followed up a one-out Burke triple to center with a RBI single up the middle. After senior pinch runner Ki'Audra Hayter swiped second and moved to third on a Minnesota throwing error, she raced home on a misplayed Washington bouncer to make it 5-1.

Down to three final outs to battle back in the game, the Gophers got off to a quick start in the seventh with consecutive singles from Partain and Brandner. UM eventually cut the Texas lead to 5-3 as left fielder Natalie DenHartog launched a two-out, two-run HR over the wall in center. Despite allowing a walk to bring the potential tying run to the plate, Adams induced a liner to short to complete UT's triumph.